PODCAST: Markets react to Ukraine

Russian naval infantry soldiers (marines) walk as they guard the Orsk Russian landing ship anchored in the Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol on March 2, 2014. In 2010, after years of tortuous negotiations, Ukraine agreed to extend Moscow's lease on Sevastopol port until 2042 in exchange for a 30-percent reduction in the price of Russian gas on which Ukraine depends for much of its energy needs. - VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the newly-installed Prime Minister of Ukraine said a military conflict in the country would ruin regional stabilty. He also says the new government has no intention of nationalizing private companies. Nevertheless, the markets are reacting to the tensions with investors moving toward the safe haven of the U.S. Treasury.

David Brancaccio is the host of American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report, now a regular segment on NPR’s Morning Edition. His reporting focuses on the future of the economy, financial and labor markets, technology, the environment and social enterprises.